Dr. Kellyann's Blog

The Amazing Benefits of Mini-Fasting

Mini-Fasting: The Quickest Way to Melt Off the Pounds, Erase Wrinkles, and Heal Your Gut

I have a confession: I didn’t always believe in fasting, or even mini-fasting.

In my twenties, I was a body builder and fitness freak–believe it or not! I was even “Ms. St. Louis” for a body building show I won. So you could say I was great at it.

I even followed a strict bodybuilding diet regimen. Which means, every two hours I had to eat. And I never, ever miss a meal. I even had an alarm on my sports watch go off every two hours so I could devour boiled chicken.

Well, I’ve come a long way, baby!

Once I started to travel, I couldn’t keep eating every two hours. Between layovers, long flights, and avoiding bad airplane food (nothing Paleo about those honey roasted peanuts!), I needed to adjust my system.

Then I learned about mini-fasting.

And boy, was I all wrong about fasting. Seeing the science behind it, and what it does for your body–and for MANY of my patients who struggled with food…I’ve put that eat-every-2-hours lifestyle behind me for good.

And I feel GREAT!

In the nutrition world, fasting can have a bad reputation.

Let me be the one to tell you–mini-fasting is NOT starving yourself. Not all fasts are dangerous–and not all of them will leave you feeling uncomfortably hungry and malnourished. And more importantly, fasting can be a sustainable part of your lifestyle!

Too many of my patients tried every diet under the sun, only to see no results. Sometimes, they even gained weight on their diet. You can imagine how frustrated they were.

That is, until I had them try mini-fasting. The results prove it, and science proves it–mini-fasting is a simple approach to eating that stabilizes your weight, promotes healing, and increases longevity.

For example, Marie Brown, 47 years old, was a yo-yo dieter since her early 20s (like most of my patients are). With mini-fasting and my Bone Broth Diet, she lost 40 pounds!

Marie is only one of the numerous women to change their lives (and body!) with mini-fasting.

I want you to be well-informed, so I’ll break down the different types and lengths of mini-fasting, including which ones are most beneficial, and which ones to avoid completely! Mini-fasting is so unbelievable, I incorporated it into my signature Bone Broth Diet.

And now, I’m excited to show you how it can change your life, too.

What is Mini-Fasting?

Mini-fasting means for 1 or 2 days a week, you take a break from eating. The rest of the time, you follow basic eating guidelines you already know: Eat healthy fats, lean proteins, veggies, and some fruit. And, avoid processed food, of course.

But don’t mistake it for a traditional diet.

It’s a lifestylechange. It’s the antidote to yo-yo dieting and compulsive eating habits.

And most of all, it’s effective! Not just for weight loss, but for gut health, immunity, longevity, and so much more.

That’s because your body LOVES fasting! Here’s why…

Why Your Body Loves Mini-Fasting (and how it’s different from a cleanse)

I started fasting after doing tons of research and stumbled on the treasure trove of benefits fasting does for your body–when you do it right.

Lose Weight Faster

When you take in fewer calories, you lose weight. Simple as that.

To burn body fat, you must get fatty acids out from hiding and into the bloodstream–a.k.a., lipolysis. There are two ways to initiate lipolysis: exercise and fasting.

Then, the fatty acids must be burnt off (oxidation) in the mitochondria of your muscle cells. Once the fatty acids are dead, they’re gone for good. Sayonara.

So, when you take a break from eating, your body burns MORE fat. It increases lipolysis.

Once your body is done digesting its last meal, it begins lipolysis for sustained energy, releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream.

This can happen as soon as TWO HOURS into the fast! It can happen that quickly–there’s a reason why they call it a fast.

But that doesn’t mean you should fast as long as possible. You’ll release more fatty acids into your bloodstream the longer you fast–only up to a point.

On the other hand, eating too soon after a fast might even drive those released fatty acids back into storage (re-esterification).

So, to make sure your fatty acids are complete zapped, stretch your fasting to various lengths and allow oxidation to occur.

And of course, I always recommend exercise! You’ll burn the fat faster AND feel phenomenal…at any age.

Sally Cain lost 10 pounds in ONE week at 61 years old. In her words: “I was so shocked after I got off the scale. Plus, I lost a lot of cellulite!”

Always wanted that lean, sculpted body? Well, fasting along with light exercise during your fasting state can help you tone more muscle.

And how exactly?

Well, your body has a special protein called mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR for short). It’s commonly referred to as the muscle-building gene, because recent research revealed it regulates construction and regeneration of muscle tissue.

And to activate mTOR, you must exercise! Right after a workout, mTOR has its massive muscle-building potential, and is released as soon as you consume food.

To maximize your mTOR’s muscle-making potential, suppress it first. And guess what? Mini-fasting is the best way to do that! Which means when you unleash your mTOR by eating, exercise, or both, the effects are amplified.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll all of a sudden look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. You’ll build beautiful lean muscle without looking like a pro body builder (believe me, I’ve done it and it takes a lot of work to get there! My Bone Broth Diet is for more effortless).

Plus, the more you eat, the more insulin you produce and the less sensitive you become to it. What’s great about insulin–a blood sugar regulator–is it transports the nutrients from your food into your cells. But when you eat TOO often or TOO much, your body won’t gain muscle efficiently, and you need to get the same job done and more insulin to produce. It’s a vicious cycle you want to avoid.

But mini-fasting will balance your insulin levels. When you fast, you bring them down to a more balanced level and become more sensitive to its effects. Which means you’ll tone your body and need less insulin to do it!

Think Sharper and Clearer

Fasting helps ward off the odds of neurodegenerative diseases. The research proves it!

The benefits of fasting on the brain alone is reason to do it–even if you don’t want to lose weight or gain muscle.

Fasting puts mild stress on brain cells, similar to how exercise does on the muscles.

Which means, your brain grows stronger and more resistant to neurodegenerative diseases. And you’ll have an improved and sharper attention span, concentration, and focus.

It’s the ultimate productivity hack!

Fasting upsurges the process known as autophagy–which is like a cellular waste removal service. It gets rid of damaged molecules tied to neurological diseases. It’s your brain’s way of taking out the trash so that garbage doesn’t pile.

But you don’t have to accept aging as inevitable. You can slow down the natural aging and defend yourself from those troublemaking free radicals. Fasting is one of the 2 ways to combat premature aging–the other being exercise (which you’ll also be doing, right?)

And eating heavy hastens the aging process. Too much insulin and mTOR overactivity speed up the rate of cellular degradation.

Finally, when it comes to your health, balance is key. And that’s exactly what mini-fasting does for you.

Fasting restores proper pH balance in the blood. Too much acidity in the blood can lead to acidosis, which leads to debilitating ailments like arthritis. Fasting works to clear acidosis from the bloodstream and restore the proper alkaline-acidity environment for your body to thrive.

Inflammation, Inflammation, Inflammation

What’s the #1 true killer in the US?

You guessed it–inflammation is the culprit. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to any harmful stimuli, from bacterial infection to a bump on the head.

If it gets chronic, it can lead to diseases like arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and various forms of cancer. And guess what? Chronic inflammation is closely tied to overeating and obesity.

The benefits are endless, but it’s not exactly smooth sailing from the start. Which is why most believe fasting bogs you down and hinders your ability to work out intensely. Once you pass that beginning phase, you’ll see increased energy levels!

To say I have a busy lifestyle is an understatement. I have two amazing kids, I’m traveling all over the country, running a business, and still somehow managing to make time for myself–all while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

If I didn’t have all this natural energy from mini-fasting and healthy eating, there’s no way I would get through the day.

Which is why I’m thrilled to say fasting boosts your energy in a similar way exercise does.

The body responds to stress via the release of adrenaline. The bigger the stress you experience, the bigger the adrenal response is. When you release adrenaline, you feel awake, alert, and READY for action.

Which is how I feel every morning when I wake up and throughout the day!

The list goes on and on…

I could go on FOREVER about the extraordinary benefits of fasting. In addition to everything we’ve covered so far, fasting also:

Lowers triglycerides

Repairs cells

Rests the digestive system

Cleanses and detoxifies the body

Begins the healing process

Improves hunger signals

So, now you know why mini-fasting is so amazing for you. Now read how you can get started mini-fasting right away and learn about some of the types of fasts I definitely don’t recommend you try.

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